You’ve just joined a gym and are excited to start seeing a difference in your body and health. In doing so, you jump right in without having any knowledge of what you are doing or how to use the equipment correctly. Without education on proper form and use of equipment, you could be setting yourself up for an injury that could take you weeks or months to recover. Following a few simple guidelines will help you avoid these injuries.

1. Shoulder Pain: Prior to doing any exercises involving the shoulder, you should take some time to build the rotator cuff muscles. To build these muscles properly, focus on less weight, greater reps and good form.

2. Lower Back Pain: Many gym exercises can put your lower spine at risk. Weight lifting exercises where you are overloading the bar tend to stress the tissues of your lower back. Specific at risk exercises would be squats, bench press and shoulder press. During these exercises the proper form is to keep you back in straight alignment rather than bending your back. Good posture and a tight core will provide stability during these exercises.

3. Knee Pain: The saying should go "knees follow the toes". When performing any type of exercises involving your knees, they should be in alignment with your toes. If you should experience knee pain, it is important to ice and elevate and not to continue the activity until the pain has subsided.

4. Tennis Elbow: When doing specific exercises that utilize the elbow, you need to ensure you don’t overload the weight and potentially risk injuring your elbow joint or tendons. The bench press and incline press tend to be the kind of exercises that would bring on or aggravate this type of injury. Immediately ice if you feel elbow pain and slowly rehabilitate so the injury heals properly. Consider a different set of exercises that will not cause ongoing injury.

5. Pulled Groin: Squats and lunges typically are most associated with a pulled groin. Proper warm up, stretching and using the appropriate weight will help you avoid this injury. Rest and time will help you recover from a groin pull.

Educate yourself on proper form and use of equipment by utilizing a trainer’s expertise at the gym or utilize how to videos or pictures from reliable sources. If you do become injured at the gym and the pain persists for more than two weeks, it is time to see an orthopedic specialist.

Spring athletes are prone to hamstring injuries as they do a great deal of kicking, running and sprinting (soccer and track) in these sports. However, with proper fitness, flexibility and training, the athlete should be able to avoid an injury.

The hamstring is a group of muscles and tendons running along the back of the thigh making it possible for you to bend your knee. When the hamstring is stretched beyond its limits during an activity, it can become injured.

Those who experience a hamstring injury typically have sudden onset of a sharp pain in the back of the thigh which usually occurs during a strenuous exercise. Tenderness and swelling will usually follow the pain within a few hours. Muscles may feel weak and it may be difficult to put any weight on the affected leg.

Hamstring injuries are given different grades based on the severity of the injury. Grade I is mild not resulting in very much damage. You may feel a strain or pull in the back of the thigh. Grade II is moderate and associated with a partial tear of the hamstring. Grade III injuries are considered severe with a complete tear to the hamstring muscles and tendon (also called an "avulsion injury"). Being the most severe of the grades, surgery may be required.

Mild symptoms may be treated at home with RICE (rest, ice, compression and ice) method. More severe symptoms, specifically not being able to put weight on the leg, need to be evaluated by a doctor. A physician will do a thorough physical exam and possibly order x-rays or an MRI to make a proper diagnosis. Anti-inflammatory medication may be recommended to reduce the swelling and over the counter ibuprofen can be used to control the pain. Depending on the severity of the injury, a treatment plan will be started.

Rehabilitation varies for each individual depending on the severity of the injury. If you have a Grade I injury, allow 2-4 weeks before returning to your physical activity. With a Grade II injury expect a 4-8 week recovery to include physical therapy. Grade III injuries will likely require surgery, recovery and rehabilitation taking 2-3 months. For the hamstring to heal completely, it could take 4-6 months after surgery.

To reduce your risk factors in getting a hamstring injury, you should focus on increasing your flexibility with proper stretching of the hamstring muscles. Good physical fitness overall will also reduce the possibility of an injury. It is also a good idea to ensure proper training techniques to develop the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh as well as the hamstring muscles in the back of the thigh. Proper balance of these muscle groups also reduces your risk of a hamstring injury.

If you should damage your hamstring, it is important to allow it to fully heal preventing re-injury which could result in a more serious injury keeping you out of your chosen activity for a longer period of time.